‘Django’ actress Daniele Watts, boyfriend charged with lewd conduct
theGRIO REPORT- Actress Daniele Watts and her boyfriend, Brian James Lucas, were charged with one count of lewd conduct for allegedly having sex in public. If convicted, the couple faces six months in jail and a $1,000 fine apiece...
Actress Daniele Watts and her boyfriend Brian Lucas were charged Tuesday with one count of lewd conduct for allegedly having sex in public last month.
If convicted, the couple faces six months in jail and a $1,000 fine apiece.
Last month, the Django Unchained actress made headlines when she and Lucas accused the Los Angeles Police Department of racial profiling — Lucas is white, and Watts is black.
The officer involved, Sgt. Jim Parker, has since released an audio recording of his version of the incident, and compromising photos of the couple have also been released by witnesses to TMZ.
After the photos and recording were released, activists who once called for the department to apologize have since asked Watts and Lucas to retract their statement of events.
Tuesday night, Watts and Lucas released a statement that said:
If a passionate public embrace while displaying no nudity is grounds for having charges filed against you, then we’d expect that everyone who engages in an extended public display of affection with their loved one will be targeted as well. Sergeant Parker is still under investigation for his conduct and filing misdemeanor charges against us does not change his behavior.
TheGrio | ‘Django’ actress Daniele Watts detained by cops, claims ‘racial profiling’
The LAPD is indeed investigating Parker, but Chief Charlie Beck stated that his concern was for Parker’s release of his audio recording, not the incident between Parker and Watts and Lucas. Policy is unclear on whether officers are free to release such recordings, and Parker could lose his job for making the recording public without permission.
Parker released a statement on the matter:
The support from all of the officers in the past six weeks who have contacted me and expressed their support for what I am doing and for what I am bringing to the public’s attention only confirms that I am doing the right thing. All of the support from the community and the letters lets me know what I knew all along and that is that I did the right thing. All of the support only validates that I did the right thing, and I would do it again if I had to do. Thank you.
